DM Jesse's Temple of Elemental Evil PbP, Pathfinder style

Game Master Jesse Heinig

Fezzik is stunned that Rannos somehow avoided his well placed attack. When he sees him reach for a pouch, he drops his flail and tries to grab him so he can't get away.

CMB (Grapple): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 Provokes AoO and that would be a no on grabbing him.

Moving up to the door, Deko grins and readies a strike against the bad man if he should come out.

Enoby enjoys the cool night air and continues watching her new partners sow mayhem, ready should any of their quarries attempt to escape outside.

Sitll have an attack readied for Rannos or Gremag attempting to flee outside (assuming she can see them, of course!)

To be clear, Rannos doesn't avoid the hits, but he is taking them without it eating too heavily into his defenses and readiness.

As a minor peek behind the curtain, Rannos is a highly outleveled encounter. It's possible to subdue him but it's going to take a lengthy, consistent beating.

Rannos is not armed so when Fezzik tries to grab him, this doesn't give him any useful openings.

So now he would attempt to flee invisibly, after getting smacked around a couple of times. Anyone missing their action for round 2?

I think I'm good.

I'm set, too.

Ok. Sorry things got so mixed up there! That pushes us to

ROUND 3

Rannos has vanished thanks to his disappearing powder, after taking a bit of a pummeling, but he hasn't made it out the door yet (because I bungled the action to retrieve an item). That means that -- for just a few seconds -- you know where he is and can swing on him with weapons, albeit with a miss chance due to concealment (50% - roll high to hit!).

Sadly for him, Rannos is a bit slow today and will go after another round of beatings by the PCs. Maybe Zinnath will get lucky and poison him this time...

I'll try to keep a more organized list of exactly what happens this round and for future rounds, so that we don't lose track. Once more, everyone but Fezzik goes, then Rannos, then Fezzik.

Sting To Hit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 5', P, x2
Sting Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 2 Plus Poison!
Poison: sleep 1 minute, 1/minute for 10 minutes, Fort(15)

Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 13 Miss!!

You'll stay down if you know what's good for you!" Kyrie digs deep, and draws on her focus to allow her one last spell.

last Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

Toppling Spell Trip check: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 4 = 13

Cursing under her breath, Bataleigha takes one last desperation swing with her mace, hoping for the wonderful experience of a "Thunk!"

heavy mace: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16 forbludgeoning damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 55

You'll stay down if you know what's good for you!" Kyrie digs deep, and draws on her focus to allow her one last spell.

[dice=last Magic Missile]d4+1+1

[dice=Toppling Spell Trip check] 1d20 + 1 + 4

I don't believe it's possible to target an invisible creature with a spell that isn't capable of targeting a square (unless you can see invisible, of course).

You've got the right of it. An AOE spell, or a spell with an attack roll you could, but not with something like MM.

Always wondered about that.

Readied action to punch the square in front of the door if it opens.

Ah! Okay, nevermind about that then! I'll just Delay for now, then.

Bat manages to connect with something and her heavy mace is deflected slightly sideways.

Rannos has a lot of hit points, which I typically represent as it taking a long time to batter down someone's defenses to line them up for a finishing blow - so Rannos is hit, but it isn't lethal.

You hear running footsteps as Rannos tries to make his escape under the cloak of invisibility. From outside there's the sound of Burne's Badgers moving in, revealing themselves now that the raid has gone off and tightening the noose.

Unfortunately, nobody is able to see the invisible - but you can clearly hear that Rannos is trying to escape via the barnyard, and (with Perception DC 10) can even easily follow his footsteps.

Since Rannos can't be directly targeted without being able to figure out what square he's in -- Perception DC 30 -- it might be best for you to follow his tracks and see where he tries to go, but I'll leave that up to you to decide.

Outside, Enoby hears the commotion and sees a concealed door slam open, but doesn't see anyone leaving it.

Zinnath queries his allies, "Are any of you good trackers?"

Bat issues an unladylike curse as Rannos vanishes and makes his escape.

"No," the cleric gripes over her shoulder at the small dragon. "And in this armor, I'm not very good at pursuit either."

To All: "Did anyone notice if there was any snacks around? Maybe some jerked meat, or sausages?"

Bemused, Enoby approaches the building towards the door that flung open. On approach, she kept her eyes peeled for any indication of a fleeing target: footprints, parts of the environment knocked askew, etc.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

I was positioned right in front of the door, would I have noticed anything?

Kyrie wanders into the direction of Enoby and helps her looks for clues.

Perception assist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Fezzik shakes his head as Rannos disappears and a secret door opens in the wall. He moves closer to look outside.

Remember, nobody's aware of the concealed door until Rannos triggers it, which he doesn't do until after he's used the dust. Meaning, there's nobody outside it until he has already vanished -- because nobody knows that the door is there, and to all appearances it's just a wall.

He's a pretty competent rogue so he is no stranger to being able to move through an opponent's space while invisible, or going out a window, or switching to a different door -- and the party can't necessarily tell which one of those escapes he chooses; even if he kicks open the door, he's not required to use it!

The two laborers grab for farm implements but realize very quickly that they are sorely outnumbred, between all of you and the impending threat of Burne's Badgers closing in. The outcome is obvious and they drop their tools and grudgingly surrender.

Fortunately, once Rannos crosses the threshold he does leave a few partial footprints, though he's moving at speed and making his way straight across the road. Bat is able to hustle to the south side of the street, where he is forced to ford the river, which leaves muddy tracks on the far side for a bit.

You also notice that he's fast. Not haste-level fast, but faster than the typical runner. (Run feat? Boots of Striding and Springing? Who knows?)

His tracks cut through the orchard behind the village hall, then west and... he vanishes into the woods.

Rannos is not only fast, he's good at hiding. Even following his tracks over to the west side of town, once he's in the woodline there's just no sign of him -- he moves at high speed and somehow is able to remain sneaky. (Like he has certain rogue talents or something.)

Your guess is that he was smart enough not to try to cross the entire town, but instead went for an easy break into the woods, where he could use the cover to hide.

"Damn! That fellow's more slippery than a Nyr Dyr eel!"

Bat, in her medium armor, doesn't pursue very far and urges the others not to either. "If he was able to survive what we just hit him with then he's likely capable enough to pick off any stragglers that go after him."

Bat heads back inside to make sure the other fellow is secure.

To the group: "What's the plan here? Perhaps the ones we captured know where he is headed?"

Ah, sorry, missed the fact that it was a hidden door.

Deko was confused as a portion of the wall suddenly opened. As the rest of the party ran out, looking around for something, Deko scratched his head. "What Deko miss? Ooh, there free beer?!"

Enoby enters the building.

"You all struck fiercely and without mercy, this was a fine raid. However, I surmise one of our targets has escaped? It appears our quarry is slipperier than expected. And perhaps possessing a few magical tricks and tools as well."

Bataleigha frowns a bit at Enoby's words.

"Rannos escaped," she says simply. "He was tougher, more skillful, and more prepared for such a raid than we anticipated. And now he's likely off warning the cult that we're on to them. Damn it!"

"Still, we've routed one den of vipers here in Hommlet. The question is: Are there more?"

You reassemble in the barnyard, where some of the Badgers round up the workers. The captain gives Fezzik a hearty pat on the back. "Good work. We'll haul these off to the dungeon under the keep."

Gremag, the trader who surrendered, turns out to be wearing a fine mail shirt under his high-collared tunic, and carrying a dagger that is coated in poison.

"Poisoned weapons are not going to go well for you," says the captain. He adjusts his metal cap slightly and says to the group, "What's your next move? I'll tell Burne what's up with these snakes - if you want to question them you can drop in at the dungeons. But with Rannos escaped we don't know what the cult will do."

"I wish I'd thought of it earlier but got caught up in the excitement and chaos," Bat tells the captain and her comrades. "If we could cast a detect magic spell, we might be able to at least track Rannos a bit, to the point of getting a better grasp on where he's ultimately headed. Now, with the head start he's got, that's a risky proposition."

[Mentally to Zinnath]: Can you cast such a spell? And would you be willing to fly through the village alone to seek out Rannos? There's no shame in refusing my suggestion--I fear Rannos is much more dangerous than we previously believed.

Fezzik gives a weak smile at the congratulations. "One got away. I no think he just a shop keeper. He go warn others. We find out what these know," he says pointing to the prisoners.

Deko, unused to so many people gathering around him without mugs and tankards flying through the air, nervously shuffled his feet. "Uh, Deko not know magic. Maybe wood man help track bad man?" he asked the others.

Kyrie starts wandering around the store and the man's personal quarters.
"We should search this building. There was a secret door, so who knows shat other secrets are about. Perhaps we might find some paper or clue as to either his cult or his destination."

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

She finds a dusty tome and spends quite a bit of time poring over it, trying to make some sense of it. Alas it turns out just to be an orcish cookbook.

"A fine idea, Kyrie," Batalaigha says. "I'll scan this place and the barn for any magical emanations. We might find a hidden stash that way."

Bat casts detect magic and then begins to carefully scan the trading post and (later) the barn for any emanations.

Your search of the grounds turns up all the usual supplies, but no incriminating notes or papers. You do find, however, that a short sword kept behind the counter has a faint magical aura.

The locals in your group recognize that the groom and the man-at-arms (the folks who were in the stable, now arrested) were also members of the town militia.

At this point it's a little open-ended but your options are probably either to try to track Rannos (likely not a great choice since you don't have a serious tracker in the party), talk to Burne or Jaroo or one of the other town councilors about what you've found, or interrogate one (or more) of the prisoners. You might have other ideas, that's fine to explore too - we're not on rails here - but those are the obvious directions at the moment, I believe.

Incidentally, it's pretty rare in my experience for players to actually tackle cult agents in Hommlet. Most PCs assume the town is just there to be a base of operations and then go on to the adventure - very few people actually go to the trouble of rooting out spies in the town!

Heh. We had the benefit of having an ex-cultist in our midst who gave us warning. Otherwise Bataleigha would've long since hit the road in search of the missing wagon (which is another possibility for our efforts in the near future).

To Bataleigha: "Yes, of course, I can find magic, and being as brave as I am, I would happily do it."

I suppose we can assume that Zinnath looked for magic as well and found none.

Bataleigha looks to the others.

"Let us go with Burne's Badgers and deliver these prisoners to the local jail...wherever that might be. There we can interrogate them more safely."

In a whisper she adds, "No telling where Rannos might be. We should secure these folks before Rannos can orchestrate any recue...or assassinations."

You and the Badgers move the prisoners to the (as-yet-not-fully-complete) dungeons underneath the keep (which is, itself, still under construction). The captain sends you down the stairs with several of the Badgers to put the captives into a cell, while he goes upstairs to tell Burne and Rufus about what has transpired.

As you push Gremag and his accomplices into the cell, Gremag says with a snarl, "Ask me your questions! I've no loyalty to these fools." The groom and the man-at-arms look surprised at this. Gremag responds by glaring at them and stating flatly, "Just try something. I'll beat you within an inch of your life, even with my hands tied up."

Deko was confused by the man's outburst. "Why you no like friends?" he asked, scratching his head.

At Gremag's outburst, Kyrie dispassionately throws a Force Missile into the masonry near the man's head. Just as evenly she says. "You've no need to prove your mettle here, Gremag. Just start with Deko's question and let's go from there."

Enoby leans against a far wall, observing the interrogation. She smirks faintly at Gremag's defiance, but says nothing.

Zinnath settles onto Enoby's left shoulder.

To the party: "Do you need me to scare him a bit? He seems willing to talk, but so far... Nothing!"

[To Zinnath] Scare away. Perhaps tell him that if he doesn't spill everything you'll have your big brother make a meal of him.

EDIT: Bat's now going to sit back and use Sense Motive on Gremag's answers.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

To Bat, and the party: "As you wish! I will give it a try."

Zinnath takes a deep breath, and exhales it in a high pitched screech as he sits up on Enoby's shoulder. He puffs his chest and stretches his wings several times and finally he injects his voice into the prisoner's head, "Hear me biped! My name is Zinnath, a mighty dragon, and I would just as soon eat your fingers and toes as I would be having this discussion. However, there is knowledge behind your tasty looking eyes, and I would have that knowledge, or I would have your eyes. Now start talking, and do not hold back, or I shall be snacking on your silly man parts before this night is through!"

And to the party: "We'll see, I asked nicely."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

"I'm not going to take the fall for some other idiot," says Gremag with narrowed eyes toward the other two. "Just because we had to work together doesn't make us 'friends.'"

One of the other prisoners -- the man-at-arms -- interjects and says, "Hey, just shut up and wait this out, Gremag."

Gremag glowers at him and says, "You take your chances, I take mine."

It's hard to get a bead on Gremag so far, since he hasn't spoken much, but it's pretty clear that he doesn't care about the other guys - he's quick to cut them loose. It might be a ploy to make you think they hate each other so that they can work together later, but for what purpose? Doesn't make much sense. As far as you can tell Gremag is mostly pissed off and he's just as happy to snarl at his associates as at anyone else.

To the group: "Ok, I have him ready to talk, now you bipeds need to actually ask him some questions!"

When no one else seems ready to step forward, Bataleigha fires off a few questions for Gremag.

"What do you know of Rannos and his cult?"

"Are there others in Hommlet who are members?"

"How many others in the militia are traitors?"

"Where is the cult based?"

GM: Let me know if I have to make a Diplomacy check or roll one for her.

Zinnath bares his teeth as Bat asks her questions.

Zinnath bares his teeth as Bat asks her questions.

GM: Or maybe an Intimidate check. :)

@Kyrie: Want to attempt to identify that short sword before we hit the hay? I can roll for an Aid Another, and that should give you a decent chance I'd imagine?

I find having a mule and a cart is good sense even if you're not travelling far, so that's my vote for what to do with the funds.

Zinnath will only agree to a cart of some sort if he gets assurances that a nice padded perch, or other such spot for him will be made available.

Wow! You folks were busy yesterday!

Battaleigha can also use Aid Another to help Kyrie ID the shortsword.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Bat will reluctantly agree with buying a cart and mule (having to better plan on how to spend the gold).

And I added a light crossbow and 20 bolts to her equipment list from the trading post.

I'm assuming all of the items available are normal sized. Eventually, I would like a greatsword.

If we get a cart, can I pull it instead of getting a mule?

Yes, the trading post only carries normal-sized items.

Yes, you can pull the cart. :D

At some point you guys will want to get gear that you can't acquire in Hommlet (like large weapons and armor, or magical items), and for that you'll need to either go to Verbobonc yourself or (more likely) send a delegated messenger/merchant to haggle on your behalf. Probably with guards, if he's carrying thousands of gold pieces. ;)

"Gear! You silly bipeds and your need for trinkets!"

"Hey, Deko not need weapon! Deko is weapon! But Deko like trinket..."

Super busy day at work today with a sinus headache. Will try to update the frogs tomorrow - sorry for the delay, folks!

I don't see numbers on the frogs either.

How deep does the bog look at the drawbridge? Is there an area that I can just pull myself up on the other side? How high is the gate that the drawbridge leads to? Could a rope be tied to the top of the wall for me to swing across?

Only 234 XP to second level!

Depends on what advancement track we're using. Otherwise, we could have as much as 1934 exp before level up.

Scary dragons are optimists!

The drawbridge looks like it crosses a small ditch, so the bog is deeper there - maybe as much as 10', which would still be a problem for Fezzik. The gate is about 8' high. If someone can get across with a rope you could secure it to the arch somehow but the wall itself is somewhat crumbly - the keep looks like it may have once had a second floor that has been wrecked and fallen apart.

You could possibly look for an alternative entrance, or if you don't mind spending a few hours you might be able to pull out enough of the crumbly stones to make a hole at some point in the outer wall.

Medium advancement track for xp.

Options for Fezzik to enter moathouse:

1. Walk across - fall into bog if breaks & leave us without an exit
2. Jump - could hit head on archway
3. Swing across - wall might not hold weight
4. Try to climb outside of tower to left of bridge?
5. Find a place where wall crumbling & dig hole? - could take time

I think I'm leaning towards #3.

Summers, being what they are, is when vacations happen.

We go out of town tomorrow and back on Sunday, so I may not get any more posts in until Monday.

Thanks for the heads up! Have fun! :D

Yep--enjoy.

And there goes our telepathic link. No big deal--I don't think Deko wanted to play anyways. ;)

You can assume Zinnath faithful transmits messages back and forth until I return.

Deko want play! Why Deko not play?? *Deko Cry(tm)*

Let me know if Deko is too disruptive. He is an idiot, though, so he works best with simple orders.

Oh, not at all! Enoby may be deeply unamused but I, however, am very, very amused. :D

WB Zinnath. Hope your vacation was relaxing and enjoyable.

Welcome back!

I am on the opposite of vacation. My team is currently doing crunch (overtime) at work. I was at the office over the weekend. :/

WB Zinnath. Hope your vacation was relaxing and enjoyable.

Is that what vacations are supposed to be?

Got really bad food poisoning last night. Trying to catch up. Sorry for delays. :/

Hope you feel better. Food poisoning is never fun.

Bat - I think the initiative would have occurred when I reached the south end of the hall so your starting position was probably 1 square north of your current location.

Bat - I think the initiative would have occurred when I reached the south end of the hall so your starting position was probably 1 square north of your current location.

We'll let the GM decide. Besides, it's probably not smart for the party healer to melee the snake, especially if it's a constrictor (that constrict damage adds up fast!). Let's see how your chopping with reach works first.

Do-doot-do-do, gonna shot a snake with an arrooowww~*~*

This is my shootin' a snake with an arrow soooooooong~*~*

Just for convenience I'm saying the snake gets hangry when Fezzik arrives. If someone runs up to melee it first it will, of course, respond. :)

If Bat didn't get the Knowledge (nature) check before, she won't know if it's a constrictor or not. Her high Wisdom means she probably thinks "Best not to find out the hard way." :D

Busy holiday weekend. Sporadic posting.

Down the British!

Happy Independence Day for all of us Americans!

Happy Independence Day! =)

I will be camping this weekend. Regular posting will resume Monday!

Enjoy!

I am highly mobile-reliant for the next day or so, which means I can't really do the map. I defer to everyone else's judgement on where to go/which doors to open, etc.

Ok, so the annual family get together is next week. We head out Saturday morning, and I may not have connectivity again until the following Sunday or Monday (24/25), at which time I'll be ready to kick some butt!

Everybody still here?

Still here. Waiting to get mauled by a swarm of giant rats.

Sorry, super busy weekend. Now I have to move a lot of rats!

Very sorry for the delays. Super busy at work. Lots of emergencies today. :/

No worries, it happens!

I'm back!

Deko still here! Still want punch bad guy!

Sorry guys. This week was, uh, "special."

Back to work! :D

I just wanted to confirm what was in the NW corner of the room. It looks like stairs from the map. Then we can finish the western hallway.

I'm at GenCon the next couple days, but I'll do my best to keep up!

Have fun. I'm jealous. My brother-in-law is there again for about the 10th year in a row. Hopefully someday I'll get to go.

Deko want go Con...

I am similarly at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, but I do have my laptop and will try to keep doing some updates. :)